PERTH (WA)

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previous year www.speedwayandroadracehistory.com/1968-claremont.html

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CLAREMONT SPEEDWAY 1969

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1969 - CLAREMONT SPEEDWAY   3rd January 1969

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1969 - Hank Vaanholt, in the Wyatt Motors car 12, has the outside running on Brian "Happy Birthday" McKay, 77 and Bob "Sugarfoot" Goddard through Fowlhouse bend, Hank has recently returned from working in the North West and his half season break from the Claremont oval does not seem to have done him any harm. Bob who began well this season , has had more than his share of misfortune to date, but if he returns to form could be prominent in trophy honours at the end of the year, Brian McKay startled the sceptics a few meetings ago, whe he returned to the track in a Race-Engineering re-built Midget and laid the field before him. 

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1969 - CLAREMONT SPEEDWAY   31st January 1969

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1969 - CLAREMONT SPEEDWAY 7th February 1969

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1969 - AUSTRALASIAN SPEEDWAY WORLD REPORTED

1969 January

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1968 1969 - WA SIDECAR CHAMPIONSHIP

Johnny Watkins - Graham Harris - Tom McQuade - Bryan Ralston - Ivan Hughes - Stan Smith. Photographer: Peter Roebuck.

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1969 - CLAREMONT SPEEDWAY SIDECAR SLIDESHOW

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1969 - CLAREMONT SPEEDWAY PRESS RELEASES

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1969 - WEST AUSTRALIAN NEWSPAPER REPORTED

Australian Champion and Test Captain Jim Airey (NSW)   6th March 1969

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1969 - LEN "OZZY" FORSYTH   Stock Bikes

1969 - Len Forsyth. Photo: Tony Forsyth collection

1969 - Photo: Tony Forsyth collection.

1969 - Photo: Tony Forsyth collection.

Len or Ozzy as has was known in action during a Stock Bike race at Claremont Speedway. Photo: Tony Forsyth.

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1969 - CLAREMONT SPEEDWAY   21st March 1969

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1969 - DAILY NEWS NEWSPAPER REPORTED

Charlie West leading Geoff Stanton. Photographer: unknown.

1969 - Laurie Mathews working on his Holden Grey powered car in the pits at Claremont. Photographer: unknown.

1969 - Gary Ellement at full noise. Photographer: unknown.

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1969 - JOHNNY O'KEEFE

During 1969 the wild man of Australian Rock-n-Roll Johnny O'Keefe was going through a re-birth in his music career. He toured Vietnam to entertain the Australian troops based there an signed a new record deal with Festival.
What many dont know is that Johnny fancied himself as a speedway racer, Back in Sydney O'Keefe was well known for his love of cars and racing.

1969 - Johnny O'Keefe and time on the Telethon pannel.
When Johnny was in Perth for the 1969 Telethon, Claremont Speedway promoter Aub Lawson contracted Ben Ludlow senior who owned a wrecking yard to build a stock car for O'Keefe to race at the showgrounds while he was in town.
Ben Seniors son Ben Junior, a super modified driver at the time who worked at the wreckers, was given the job of building a car, His choice a 1956 Vauxhall Velox, A powerfull six cylinder engine and a lightweight body, Aubs initial re-action to the car was, What a bloody Vauxhall. 
All was in ready-ness on the friday night, Johnny's Vauxhall was on the infield awaiting his introduction, As Aub was introducing him to the massive crowd he soon worked out that Johnny was pissed as, so with that Johnny was hidden and Ben Junior was told to get in the car, Young Ben who had never raced a sedan before lined up at the rear of the forty odd car field for the clutch start event and procceded to make his way to the front as the laps ticked over.
The crowed cheered on the rock star and the commentators paid full credit to Johnny, When the checquered flag came out the Vauxhall crossed the line in second spot and drove back into the shadows of the infield were Ben was hidden while Aub once again interviewed Johnny. 
The one good thing that has come out of this is, Ben got hooked on sedan car racing and gave the supermods away, He has gone on to thrill the crowds over the years with his highline racing style.

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1969 - CLAREMONT SPEEDWAY   29th September 1969

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1969 - LAURIE HARDIE   Production Car's

1969 - Laurie Hardie in his FE Holden at Claremont Speedway. Photographer: Peter Roebuck.

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1969 - CLAREMONT SPEEDWAY   14th November 1969

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1969 - PETER MADDON   Solo's

1969 December - Peter Maddon at full cry on his solo bike through Pits bend, Peter is son of well known Tich Madden, is following in his farthers footsteps. Photo: Don Eade.

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1969 - LES LEISK   Solo's

1969 December - Les Leisk hugs the concrete curb while Chum Taylor (partly obscured) and Hec Haslinger try unsuccessfully to pass on the outside. Photo: Don Eade.

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1969 - CHARLIE WEST   Speedcar's

1969 December - Charlie West looks worried as he waits for the start of last weeks feature race, in which he ran second, Charlie also ran third in the Carbon Brakes 500 15 lap race. Photo: unknown.

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1969 - CLAREMONT SPEEDWAY REPORTED

Les Sharpe the young gun.

Chum "the master" Taylor.

19th December 1969

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1969 - DON COLLINS   Solo's

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1969 - ROD WATSON   Production Car's

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1969 - GARRY ELLEMENT   Production Car's

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1969 - CLAREMONT SPEEDWAY REPORTED

1969 - Ray Skipper from South Australia runs low while Alf Barbagallo runs high. Photo: unknown.

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1969 - CLAREMONT SPEEDWAY

Wal Cowie

TQ's

December 1969

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1969 - CLAREMONT SPEEDWAY

December 1969

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1969 - GEOFF STANTON   Production Car's

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1969 - JEFF HALIDAY   Production Cars's

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1969 - BEN LUDLOW   Production Car's

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1969 - KEITH MANN   Speedcar's

1969 - Keith Mann (foreground) and Rod Hooper 24 pace it out together through pits bend, ex super-mod boy Hooper is going well in midgets this year, and Mann is vastly improved on his last season's standards.

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1969 - JOHNNY FENTON   Speedcar's

1969 - This year John Fenton has had more placings than any other speedcar drivers, Another super mod driver who changed to midgets. Fenton is one of Claremont's top drivers after only 1 season in that class. Photo: unknown.

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1969 - CLAREMONT SPEEDWAY & WAGR

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1969 - DAVID ROCKFORD   Supermodified's

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1969 - CLAREMONT SPEEDWAY

Wal Cowie cleans up TQ's

December 1969

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